Rights groups have said that they are concerned about the future. Many believe the election of Trump, a former reality TV star who was endorsed by far-right groups and politicians, might legitimise outward racism and physical violence.

Among Trump's main supporters, and some of the first to wish him well in his new role, are the far-right European leaders such as France's Marine Le Pen, who heads the National Front; Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister; and Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who believes Muslim immigration should be halted.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, on Thursday called on Trump to "repudiate alleged attacks on Muslim students at universities in Louisiana and California reportedly by some of his supporters".

For its part, Human Rights Watch said Trump should "abandon campaign rhetoric that seemed to reject many of the United States’ core human rights obligations".

"He found a path to the White House through a campaign marked by misogyny, racism, and xenophobia, but that’s not a route to successful governance. President-elect Trump should commit to leading the US in a manner that fully respects and promotes human rights for everyone," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

Here are some of the social media posts detailing racist attacks that have taken place since Tuesday, when tens of millions turned out to vote for the 70-year-old:

Went running earlier & a guy yelled "built the wall" at me from his car. Guessing he saw a brown woman at a distance & assumed I was Latina.